A TEENAGER who survived a vicious hammer attack that killed her mother and sister was given a special award yesterday for her work helping to free animals from captivity.

Josie Russell, who was just nine when she was left for dead in the Kent countryside, won the Campaigner category at this year’s CosmoGIRL! of the Year Awards.

The 19-year-old, who now lives in North Wales with her father Shaun, and attended Coleg Menai, received the honour for her work with wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation, which she first got involved with two years after the attack.

Josie, her six-year-old sister Megan and her mother Lin, were attacked in July 1996 as they walked home from a swimming gala in Chillenden, near Canterbury.

Despite parts of her skull being smashed in the attack she fought her way to a remarkable recovery.

Josie, who has recently returned from helping to release three circus lions to a reserve in South Africa, collected her award during a short ceremony held at the Hard Rock Cafe in central London.

She said afterwards: “I was delighted to be Campaigner of the Year for CosmoGIRL!

“I do not like to see animals in cages. They do not belong in captivity, they should live freely in their natural habitats.”

In an interview with CosmoGIRL! Josie, who has just started studying design at university, said being an ambassador for the foundation had helped her turn something negative into something positive.

She told the magazine: “Born Free got in touch when I was 11 because I’d been in the papers and they knew I loved animals.

“I adopted a leopard called Rikki and went to see him at the Born Free sanctuary in South Africa.

“It was amazing seeing the lions, zebras and giraffes – I’ve never been to a zoo or circus and I wouldn’t want to see them that way.”

Earlier this year, Josie revealed how she recently bought her own house in Bangor, and had ambitions to design jewellery after studying for her degree.

As well as Josie, five other young women were honoured at the awards.

They included a 19-year-old who was born with a rare disorder and needed a liver transplant to save her life, a champion windsurfer and a 15-year-old motor racer.

Michael Stone, an unemployed drug addict, was convicted of the murders of Lin and Megan, and the attempted murder of Josie, in 1998.

He was granted a retrial in 2001 but again convicted on all three counts. He lost a second appeal in 2005.